The visual representation of germs: a typology of popular germ depictions

Germs have been visually represented in popular texts for over 100 years, yet little is understood about the dominant practices/concepts resident in such images. This paper presents a new typology of popular germ representations from the UK consisting of three main types: Scientific, Carrier and Analogous. The first category pertains to the realm of the scientist, the second to domestic space and social norms, and the third, primarily, to the realm of imagination. The study identifies a further 13 sub-types and discusses each, in turn. We argue that a more varied range of germ images exist than the previous binary positioning of germ representations in the U.S. would suggest. We account for the continued adoption of the Analogous Germ in relation to four key cultural forces and problematize the use of the Monster Germ and its alignment of ugliness and obesity with disease.